Candy Paull

The Art of Encouragement: A Simple Guide to Living Life from the Heart
Key Word: Compassion
Key Concept: Divine perspective
Cosmic Question: Can I trust myself? Others? God?
• You have infinite abundance within you and so does everyone else.
• When we choose love over fear, we learn to trust ourselves and others, and enjoy life more.
Encouragement is the art of abundance shared and multiplied. It is a way of living that seeks to bless each person we meet. Encouragement looks at what we can be, believes for the best in each of us. Encouragement is love in action. It is taking time to praise those we love and to appreciate everyone we meet. When the world and all its pressures takes the heart out of us, we need to hear that someone cares for us and believes in us. And we need to do the same for others. Encouragement means taking time to let God encourage us, to meditate on the small miracles of life. Enthusiasm and courage, love and appreciation, practical acts of mercy and compassion--that's the way of encouragement. The art of encouragement is the art of creating community and celebrating friendship.

Permission Granted

Think of yourself as an incandescent power, illuminated and perhaps forever talked to by God and His messengers.
— Brenda Ueland

You have permission to be who you are. You have permission to love what you love. You have permission to be with the people you wish to be with and to do the things you want to do. You have permission to ask questions, to experience all the pains and pleasures of your life.

You have permission to listen to your body’s needs and to meet those needs. You have permission to explore your inner heart. You do not have to separate yourself into airtight compartments labeled body, mind, soul, spirit. You have permission to be a whole person, not a fragmented collection of miscellaneous parts.

You have permission to wait for divine guidance. Divine Source gives you permission to be who you are right now — and will help you become all that you were born to be. God is an artist and you are a work of art, unique and beautiful. You are a work of art in progress, a divine poem being written on the pages of time.

You don’t have to twist yourself into a pretzel to become someone you are not. You don’t have to squeeze yourself into a tight little box to fit someone else’s expectations. The universe has given you permission to be yourself.

Breathe a sigh of relief. Let go of what you have been holding onto so tightly. Open your hands and release your spirit. Let the Divine Presence enter the temple of your heart. Allow healing to begin. Allow growth and change to happen. It will be all right. Let life flow through the center of your being. Bask in the sunlight of God’s love.

You are beloved and you are becoming. God is removing all obstacles, all stumbling blocks, all sin, disappointment, and failure. You have spent too much time beating yourself up for the wrong reasons. No one needs to tell you about your sins, your shortcomings, and all the times you failed to make the right decision and follow through on it. You know these things in your heart of hearts. Your very cells carry the memory and the pain.

But God does not leave you in your misery. His divine intent is life — God is the fullness of life itself, and you share in that fullness. The source that drives the green shoot of spring’s new life wants also to fill you with that renewing life. Healing, forgiveness, and refreshment are there for you. Open your heart and open your hands — you will receive.

You have permission to receive this loving flow of energy and healing. You do not have to earn it, or buy it, or steal it from someone else. The ever flowing fountain of life streams from the center of your heart, from the hidden springs of your being. You just need to rest, rest, rest. Be still in the silence of God’s love and acceptance.

You already possess everything necessary to become great.
— Crow proverb

For how can a man know God without yielding himself fully to the processes of God?
— David Grayson

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.
— Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Prayer and meditation are crucial to practicing the art of encouragement. You need to take time to fill your own well, listen to your own heart, and hear the still, small voice of God before you can reach out to others. Quiet time in solitude clears the mind. And small breaks in the day help you focus on work that must be done. Here are a few suggestions of simple ways to remember your spirit and re-collect your thoughts…

Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.
— Mahatma Gandhi